By Sue James, F.E.A.S.T. Parent Volunteer
As an RN I’m very passionate about evidence base. It makes so much sense to use it if I want to give my patients the best possible care. When my daughter was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa in September 2019 it made sense that I was recommended to use Family Based Treatment (FBT) as it’s an evidence based treatment. Unfortunately until you try FBT you don’t know if it will or will not work for your child as not every treatment works for everyone.
On this journey with my daughter I have been alarmed to find that in Australia anyone can set themselves up as a treatment provider for eating disorders using any type of treatment and they don’t have to possess any qualifications in mental health or have any health professional registration or qualifications at all!
And there is no law in Australia that requires a counsellor or psychotherapist to have any qualifications, training, skills or experience!
We know that choosing providers is a real minefield anyway and it’s further complicated by this. But I think you just need to stop and ask yourself a couple of important questions before you even begin to make a treatment choice.
Is your treatment provider registered with your country’s health regulatory board? These boards exist to protect the public. If the person who is providing Eating Disorder (ED) treatment is not registered with them then they don’t have any health professional qualifications.
Secondly does the treatment have a name and is it evidence based? Evidence based means that research studies have been conducted and the treatment has been found to be effective in encouraging weight restoration , reducing eating disorder symptoms and decreasing eating disorder thoughts. If there is no transparency about the treatment , no data , no peer review then it’s probably not evidence based. Not every evidence based treatment works for everyone of course.
Is your treatment provider registered with a professional body?
Picking a treatment provider who is registered and belongs to a professional body is a good idea as they have to have certain qualifications and will engage in professional training and development regularly to keep updated.
And finally I think you need to ask yourself this question. If your child needed cardiac surgery and you went to a cardiac surgeon that your friend recommended and the surgeon said “I have years and years of lived experience and I know this treatment works because I was self taught to operate on hearts and I have cured 90% of my patients but I don’t actually have a name for this treatment or any data or research to prove it. Oh! And by the way I’m not registered as a health professional and have no qualifications except in carpentry,” would you choose this person to treat your child? I think an emphatic and resounding no from me!
Eating disorders can be deadly and are very complex so you want the best people treating your child using the best available evidence. Word of mouth is not evidence nor are family and friends’ recommendations that it has worked for them or their child. So please choose carefully and wisely and get information before you proceed.
At F.E.A.S.T , “We believe information is power and good treatment saves lives.” Here are some resources:
https://www.feast-ed.org/
https://nedc.com.au/assets/
F.E.A.S.T. is registered as a nonprofit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code. Information on this site is meant to support, not replace, professional consultation.
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